The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-17
THE INDIANS ARE COMING.
They Are to be Placed in Camp at the
Exposition.

They Are to be Placed in Camp at the
Exposition.
Meeting Capt Bill Kendrick on the street
at Jacksonville, Thursday morning, the fol-
lowing conversation took place between
him and a representative of the Times
Unioff:
Captain, | hear that they are going to
have camp of Seminole Indians at the
Sub-Tropical Exposition and that you are
to assist in looking after them; is that
fact:r
eyes, sir. Capt. F. o. Hendry, of Fort
Meyer and myself intend haying good
many of the wild men, women and children
fresh from the Everglades which, | think,
will be a great attraction to the big show. y
Are these Indians still very Wild"
mo, they are not very wild, though they
will not allow themselves to be civilized"
What are their habits of livingp
"Well, they live in wigwams or tents,
matched with palmetto. What little work is
done in the way of cultivating potatoes, etc. 4,
is done by the squaws the bucks hunt, and
their principal occupation is raising hogs
They live on game and fish and what nature
provides for them in the country. They
have no bedding whatever, except skins,
which are usually placed on platforms, but
the little ones generally fall down in the
yards anywhere and sleep. The bucks
are very athletic None can be found III
the United States or elsewhere on earth
more So They dress Just as they did, sup
pose, hundreds of years ago, the bucks with
their leggins, flap and buckskin hunting
Shirt they wear no hats, but a kind of tur-
bon from some rel material. The squaws
wear skirts from the waist down only, and
when they go into trading points they cover
their bodies with all kinds of trinkets, beads,
etc, and the children usually go naked, ex-
cept when at the trading points"
About how many Indians are there down
there Z"
"Well, all told, about 600. as near as can
get at it, divided into five different tribes
one at Old Fort Shackleford, on the Ever
glades; one on the kissimmee, in Polk
county, one on the Alpatioka, and two
parties known as the Miami Indians.
They are ruled by king whose name is
Little Tiger Tail, a son of old Tiger Tail,
who was the brother of and successor to the
notorious Billy Bow Legs. Three different
tribes each have a different chief all of
whom were made so after killing the requi-
site number of bears, namely twenty-one
each, which is all that is required. They
meet annually in June at what is known as
their green corn dance. IT'S then and there
that the criminals are tried, the king sitting
as judge, with the chiefs as jurors. The
king and chiefs also form themselves into a
kind of Legislature, and enact laws for the
ensuing year. After the adjournment of
the court and legislature they make their
new fire and have grand jubilee in the
way of big DANCE using their war paint
in great profusion,n
'Whar do you propose to do with them
here, and how many will you bringp
"Well, as many as can possibly be in
duced to come, perhaps twenty or twenty
five. l intend to keep them in wigwams
similar to those in which they reside, and
have them carry out their frontier customs
and habits in the way of living. and to per-
form at stated intervals all their war and
green corn dances, etc. In other words they
will live and act exactly the same as they
do at their native homes"
How is it that you know so much about
these Indians
II was raised with them In my earliest
recollections the nearest and only neighborS
we had for awhile were the Seminole In
dians. The great man Osceola taught me
woodcraft., Afterwards | fought them ten
years of my life-four years as a private
soldier and six years as captain of COM
pany. / am perfectly familiar with all their
habits, and at one time spoke their language
as well as they did but. as it is an unwrit-
ten language, | have forgotten the most of